My 2016 started with kissing a girl I wouldn&apos;t see again this year, missing a girl I would hope to spend this year with, a new promotion and a good deed. (So I was out seen this homeless woman who asked for a coffee, I&apos;m still in good spirits I&apos;m like sure, come inside with me, I order my coffee and I tell them and whatever she&apos;s having. She gets like 8 things. And the change. I couldn&apos;t even be mad.) I was still riding high. I don&apos;t even remember what even happened in 2015, but apparently I was really glad it was over. And if the previous night was be any inclination, 2016 was about to be lit. It was bout to be my year. Twenty Tristeen, B.

Well….it wasn’t

It was the opposite of lit. Dark. Dull. Extinguished. 2016 was cranberry sauce, bad credit, charley horses during sex, the Cleveland Browns, and Lena Dunham all wrapped into one. 2016 just lingered like a foul smell. Playing it back in my mind…March was dope, May was dope, July was dope; that&apos;s 3 hot months in a 12 month average. Prince is dead, Donald Trump is next President, and our hoverboards still don&apos;t hover. It was that kinda year.

After the past year, you can&apos;t help but look at 2017 like a knight in shining armor. A fresh start, new energy, and most importantly, a re up on vacation time. I&apos;m someone who does get into the New Year thing just as my mother did. She would have the black eyed peas and cabbage on deck (with my collard greens on the side because I hate cabbage and I&apos;m blessed and highly favored). She ensured a man walked through the door first (is that patriarchy?), there was no laundry undone, we had money in our pockets. She was all about bringing new positive and energy into each new year, regardless of how right or wrong she was about the year prior.

I&apos;m #NewYearHive. It and Labor Day are probably my favorite holidays (because how many other holidays do we have that isn&apos;t historically inaccurate or over commercialized). I enjoy New Years Eve shenanigans, as well as my new favorite tradition of laughing at people who don&apos;t seem to understand how Uber surges work. You paid $250 to go 6 miles. Sucks to be you. Yes, it&apos;s simply just a day, but I&apos;m for positivity, progress and relief from fuckshit. If people want to use 1/1/17 to make some changes in their life, who am I to judge (even though the Y gets filled with a bunch of resoluters who hog benches, take a bunch of selfies and won&apos;t be here after Valentines Day anydamnway). It&apos;s a time to sit back and really assess the past year and the lessons learned. Pour a little out for the ones who won&apos;t be with you in the next year literally and figuratively and appreciate the ones who will.

Even as someone who likes New Year&apos;s, I still don&apos;t do resolutions in the traditional sense. I just hope to travel, eat good and laugh a lot. I didn&apos;t have any resolutions going into this year, and there&apos;s none going out. I mean sure, I have some steps to take in my career, put a little more effort into some side hustles, grow, live, learn and all that good stuff. (The fact I could only come up with those generic ass goal exactly why I don&apos;t do New Year&apos;s Resolutions).

So I&apos;m looking forward to 2017, and whatever it may bring. Hopefully, this time next year I&apos;m writing about all the great things that&apos;s happened, and I&apos;m even more excited for 2018, because that&apos;s how New Years works, there&apos;s always optimism on the other end. See y&apos;all next year.